Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas told rival Nick Kyrgios to “enjoy your holiday” on Wednesday after the Australian stunned his team by pulling out of the United Cup at the last minute.
Kyrgios withdrew from the mixed teams event on the eve of the inaugural tournament, which will be held in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.
“It’s not a surprise, I hope he enjoys his holiday,” said Tsitsipas, the main talent in the eight-man Greek side in Perth.
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United Cup tournament director Stephen Farrow came to Kyrgios’ defense on Wednesday, insisting the Australian tried as hard as he could to be fit to play.
“He was here yesterday practicing,” Farrow said Sydney Morning Herald.
“I spoke to him afterwards. The fact that this announcement has come so late shows how much he wants to play. He has left it until the last possible moment to confirm whether he was able to compete or not. I spoke to him yesterday. We were hoping that he could compete, but unfortunately not.”
As for Kyrgios and Tsitsipas, the pair have had a rocky relationship that came to a head at Wimbledon this year when the latter said his Australian opponent had a “bad side” after a third-round match in a bad mood
That match descended into chaos when a frustrated Tsitsipas hit the ball into the crowd after losing the second set and Kyrgios told the referee his opponent should be kicked out of the tournament.
Bad feeling boiled over again in the post-match press conferences, with Tsitsipas calling him “a bully”.
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“I don’t know where all his energy is coming from,” Tsitsipas said of Kyrgios on Wednesday. “There’s so much I don’t know how he does it.
“You can’t concentrate on your own game, there is so much noise coming from the other side of the net. It’s a distraction, you have to be at your best to get through it all.”
Eighteen countries will compete in the United Cup over 11 days from Thursday, with all three cities hosting group matches in a home-and-away format before a series of finals in Sydney.
The ties include two men’s and two women’s singles matches and one mixed doubles match. Tsitsipas said the Greek team was excited to try to lead a minor tennis nation to great success at the new tournament.
“We’re all doing it together,” he said of the squad’s spirit. “All our teams have their eyes on the prize, but this (winning) can only be achieved by joining forces and committing ourselves every day.
“When it comes to tennis, team events are my favorite. I have a lot of faith in the players in our squad, we are all fighting for excellence together.”